Years ago, I put together a presentation called “The Client-Centered Law Practice.” It focused on the irony that while law firms focused on serving clients and appropriately addressing their legal needs, clients sometimes had an impression that differed from that. To those (hopefully few) clients, it seemed that the law firm was busily engaged doing
Client Relations
The Ethics of Office Sharing Arrangements
Office Sharing Arrangements with Other Lawyers was the subject of American Bar Association Formal Opinion 507, released July 12, 2023.
The opinion “addresses some minimum ethical requirements and suggested practices arising in the office sharing context, particularly in the areas of confidentiality, conflicts of interest, supervision, and communications concerning a lawyer’s services.” It notes that…
Thoughts on Availability Retainers and Subscription Legal Services After ABA Formal Opinion 505
Prepaid legal fees and refundability of those fees was the subject of American Bar Association Formal Opinion 505. Yesterday I did a blog post about that and noted it tracked the opinion of the Oklahoma Supreme Court released in Oklahoma Bar Association v Weigel, 2014 OK 4 (2014).
This is probably a…
What do you print on the back of your business card?
I’m certain the majority of lawyers would say they don’t print anything on the back of their business cards. That is fine.
A lawyer from southeastern Oklahoma showed me what she prints on the back of her business cards. This is another instance of where people law practice has different approaches than corporate law. People…
Text Message Reminders: An Important Tech Tool for Lawyers
I recently attended a presentation by Judge Scott Schlegel, a Louisiana district judge who has received many accolades for his forward-thinking views about the use of technology to improve court

proceedings, including text message reminders about appearances and calendars available online for scheduling. He…
The Practice of People Law
I think it is very important for lawyers who practice People Law, those primarily representing individuals, to appreciate that the differences between that and more business-oriented types of practices are increasing.
Today these areas are becoming completely different service delivery models. There was a time when a law firm handled its matters in the same…
How Using Latest Technology Can Lower Stress During Your Child Custody Lawsuit
Ben Stevens, a family law practitioner in South Carolina who I haveknown for years has authored an interesting post, How Using Latest Technology Can Lower Stress During Your Child Custody Lawsuit, He discusses Our Family Wizard, PowerSchool Parent Portals, and MyChart medical portals, as well as others. Ben has long been an advocate of…
New Year’s Resolutions and Goal Setting for Lawyers
It’s the time of year for New Year’s resolutions. Well, since this comes out in mid-January, it is the time when many New Year’s resolutions have already been made and broken. But with the new year ahead, it is an appropriate time to reflect on your law firm and the goals you have for the…
Digital Edge Podcast: A Conversation with LawPay’s CEO – and Introducing ClientCredit
Sharon Nelson and I usually are acquainted with most of our podcast guests. But Dru Armstrong has been the CEO of LawPay.for just over 90 days and it was a pleasure to meet her while we interviewed her for our podcast: A Conversation with LawPay’s CEO – and Introducing ClientCredit. She was fun,…
The Changing Dynamics of a “People Law” Practice
Do you practice People Law? There has long been a perceived difference between large law firm practice and small law firm practice. But, in my view, the major difference is not the size of the law firm, but the type of clients primarily served.
Those who study the data of law practice have noted that…